FACULTY OF ENGINEERING 
          DEPARTMENT OF PETROLEUM AND GAS
ENGINEERING  
 
DETERMINATION OF MUD DENSITY & PH VALUE IN MUD
FLUID
 
EXPERIMENT 2
 
 
NAME: Farida Dauda Yunusa
STUDENT ID: 20221177
LEVEL: PGD 2nd semester
COURSE CODE: PGE 725
ACADEMIC YEAR: 2022/2023 ACADEMIC SESSION 
DATE: 28th April 2023
DRILLING MUD DEFINITION, USAGE AND PREPARATION.
Drilling Mud Definition and usage: To be done in theory Class

Practical: How to Prepare Drilling Mud

Drilling Mud preparation:

The drilling mud is majorly divided into two phase; which are the liquid phase (e.g. water, oil, Brine

etc.) and the solid phase (i.e. Bentonite Clay).

The liquid phase is also called the continuous phase and the solid phase is also refer to as the

discontinuous phase. In the oil and gas industry, two major types of drilling mud prepared are:

1. Water-base Drilling Mud

2. Oil-based Drilling Mud.

Preparation of Water-based Drilling Mud

Water-based drilling mud is usually a combination of water and bentonite clay.

Additives to enhance mud characteristics can be added if required.

In the laboratory water-based mud is prepared by the mixing together of

350Ml of water + 25g of Bentonite clay.

Material/Equipment Used:

Bentonite clay, water, Measuring Cylinder, Mixer cup, Mud Mixer, weighing Balance,

Spatula.

Preparation of Oil-based Drilling Mud.

Oil-based drilling mud is composed of oil as the continuous phase and water as the dispersed

phase in conjunction with emulsifiers, wetting agents and gellants. The oil base can be diesel,

kerosene, fuel oil, selected crude oil or mineral oil. Oil-based drilling mud has more of oil than water.

In the laboratory Oil-based mud is prepared by mixing together of

350Ml of Mineral Oil + 50ML Of water + 20g of Bentonite clay + 10ML of Emulsifier.

Material/Equipment Used:

Bentonite clay, water, Measuring Cylinder, Mixer cup, Mud Mixer, weighing Balance, Spatula.

Emulsifier, mineral oil.

DETERMINATION OF MUD DENSITY

Theory

Density (ρ) is defined as the mass of the fluid per unit volume. In general, it varies with pressure and

temperature. The dimension of density is kg/m3 in SI unit or lb/ft3 in the English system. The density

of the drilling fluid must be controlled to provide adequate hydrostatic head to prevent influx of

formation fluids, but not so high as to cause fracturing of the formation, leading to loss circulation.

The Baroid Mud Balance is used to determine the density of the drilling fluid. The instrument

consists of a constant volume cup with a lever arm and rider calibrated to directly read the density of

the fluid in pounds per gallon (ppg), pounds per cubic foot, pcf, (Lb/ft3), kilogram per meter cube

(kg/m3) specific gravity and pressure gradient in psi/1000 ft.

For water with a specific gravity of 1.0, the corresponding values are 8.33ppg, 62.4pcf, and

1000kg/m3

Test Procedure

Calibration Method

I. Remove the lid from the cup, and completely fill the cup with water.

II. Replace the lid and wipe dry.

III. Replace the balance arm on the base with knife-edge resting on the fulcrum.

IV. The level vial should be centered when the rider is set on 8.33. If not, add to or

remove shot from the well in the end of the bream.

Using the calibrated Mud Balance

1. Remove the lid from the cup, and completely fill the cup with the mud to be tested.

2. Replace the lid and rotate until firmly seated, making sure some mud is expelled through the hole

in the cup.

3. Wash or wipe the mud from the outside of the cup.

4. Place the balance arm on the base, with the knife-edge resting on the fulcrum.

5. Move the rider until the graduated arm is level, as indicated by the level vial on the beam.

6. At the left-hand edge of the rider, read the density on either side of the lever in all desired units

without disturbing the rider. Note down mud temperature corresponding to density.

DETERMINATION OF PH VALUE IN MUD FLUID.

The term "potential of hydrogen" has historically been used to describe the pH,

often known as acidity, in chemistry. It is a scale used to describe how basic or

how acidic an aqueous solution is. The pH values of acidic solutions are typically

lower than those of basic or alkaline solutions.

There are a multitude of ways to check pH of substances; these include the

universal indicator , litmus paper and more .

Indicating the acidity or alkalinity of solutions, a universal indicator is a pH

indicator made of a solution of many compounds that displays a variety of smooth

color changes throughout a broad pH range.

a piece of paper that has undergone chemical treatment with the dye litmus. You

submerge this strip in the liquid whose pH you're determining. An inspector may

only measure the acidity or basicity of a solution by using litmus paper, which

turns red at pH levels below 5 and blue at pH levels above 8.

The pH level is significant because if it is too low, a lot more drilling additives

will be required to reach the desired viscosity. You will ultimately save product

and money by checking your pH levels.

a drilling fluid test that evaluates the pH of muds and mud filtrates and is typically

carried out in accordance with API guidelines. A pH meter with a glass-membrane

measuring electrode and reference electrode that reads from 0 to 14 is used for the

pH test. Temperature adjustment is automatic on the recommended pH meter.

Figure11:ph Meter

Results from checking the ph value of drilling mud mixture, with and without

NaOH.
 Fluid pH Temperature

Units °C

Water 7.00 25.00

Drilling mud mixture 7.14 28

Drilling mud mixture 8.34 28

with NaOH

The acidity or alkalinity of a substance is measured by its pH. A pH of 7.0 is neutral, a pH below

7.0 is acidic, and a pH above 7.0 is alkaline. To make drilling fluid additives work properly and

produce the desired results, they need to be mixed with water that has a pH between 8.5 and 10.

Most water sources have a pH between 5.5 and 7.5, which is too low.

A simple way to test the pH of water is to use a pH testing strip, similar to the ones used for

swimming pool water. These are thin pieces of paper that change colour depending on the pH.

They are easy to use; you just dip the strip in water, wait for the colour to appear, and then

compare it with the colours on a chart that comes with the strips.
If the pH of the water is lower than 7, you need to add soda ash or another product like pH 10 to

the water. You can use about ¼ pound to ½ pound of these products for every 100 gallons of

water. These products will also soften the water if it has too many minerals (hard water) so that

you don’t need to use as much additive product. After dissolving them in water, you need to test

the pH again to make sure it is at the right level.

Lastly, if your water quality is bad or if the pH is too high, for example between 11 and 14, then

you may have to add sodium bicarbonate to lower the pH.

CONCLUSION

The reason that the pH level is important is that much more drilling additive will be needed to

achieve the right viscosity if the pH level is too low. Checking your pH levels will save you

product and money in the long run.

 References
Fordia. (2017, May 23). Why pH levels are important when mixing drill mud.
https://blog.fordia.com/blog/why-ph-levels-are-important-when-mixing-drill-mud